Blain church group gets ‘knotty'

Most folks in Perry County are unaware there is a group of "knotty' women in western Perry County who have been meeting anually in March for a very long time. Until now, they've operated quietly behind closed doors, fabricating quilts and cover-ups when a story may have been in the offing.

During the first of March, the Women's Fellowship of Zion United Church of Christ (UCC) becomes the "Knotty Ladies of Blain.' Instead of having their monthly meeting at a member's home, they gather in the church fellowship room and put the finishing touches on quilts and lap robes. The patchwork quilts then are donated for distribution to needy individuals and families.

Six ladies and one male guest (who will remain nameless) arrived with needles, thimbles and thread in hand ready to knot eight twin-sized quilts and five lap robes. The quilters are Violet Binger, Helen Rohm, Linda Riggs, Joan Adair, Helen Wagner and Myrna Lyons. These women have been a major part of the group for 40, maybe closer to 50, years according to Binger.

"We used to have a lot more sewers than we have today," Binger said.

"There was a time when we did 60 quilts in a day and had covered-dish lunches. Now we just go to the Blain Hotel for lunch," Riggs added.

Rohm lamented that she has arthritis and her fingers are getting stiff. She's not sure how long she can continue with the annual project.

When the delicate subject of age was raised, Wagner immediately chided, "You don't want to get into a fight with old women, do you?'

The quilts available for knotting started as pieces of cloth or patches gathered from remnants from other sewing projects. Some material was donated and some bought as needed.

Binger gathered and cut the material into various shapes and arranged the pieces into quilt patterns with names like sailboat, bow tie, flower basket, nine patch, maple leaf, pin wheel and shoofly.

Then Rohm and Binger sewed the patches together into specific patterns to form the top, incorporated filler material such as a sheet to form the middle of the quilt and finally sewed the top and middle to a backing of plain material around the quilt's edges. The preliminary sewing was done by machine.

Why not quilt all the patch seams together through all three layers? To do so in the traditional hand-stitched way would take forever. To sew each seam of every patch, even with a machine, would take significant time and effort, as well. Instead, the ladies pass double pieces of thread down through the three layers of material — patchwork top, middle filler material and plain backing — and up through to the top again where the four pieces of thread are tied snuggly in a knot.

Knots are tied every eight to 10 inches at predetermined locations based on the pattern and size and shape of the patches.

During the early years, quilts were sent to a mission in Biloxi, Miss. More recently, quilts went to Perry County Civil Defense for distribution to victims of catastrophes such as fire, storms and floods.

The Perry County Food Bank will receive this year's quilts and lap robes and will distribute them to individuals and families in need of a well-made, warm cover-up.

Do they ever hear from the folks who benefit from their work? "No, that isn't the intent of what we do," Lyons replied. But now, the word may finally be out and the cover-ups exposed because as Rohm pointed out, "These quilts are signed in the corners: Zion UCC, Blain, PA.'